Lonely
by Icy-Kitty117
Summary: The natural host is feeling a bit down. The Wild type noticed and decided to ask why. HaruXMori if you squint. Rated T to be safe.


**Hey all! This is just a short little one-shot that had been bugging me for a while. It is only meant as a friendship fic, but I guess you can probably read some subtle romance into it. For all the HaruXMori fans. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Lonely**

So many people. So much noise.

No reprieve from the constant act. It all made Haruhi's head hurt more than it had been before. All she wanted at that moment was a quiet place to curl up with a book and pretend that the rest of the world did not exist.

Alas, as a host, that was just not an option. The constant loneliness that had been plaguing her for a few days now really did nothing to improve her mood. Luckily, the girls that flocked to the Ouran High School's Host Club were easy enough to fool with one of her 'natural' smiles and some stupid comment about how Haruhi would rather hear about the girls' day than share stories of her own.

' _Natural smiles' huh? It's a wonder no one had noticed that it had always been fake.'_ Haruhi thought wryly as she politely excused herself to get some more tea for her guests.

Contrary to Haruhi's belief, there was one person who had noticed that their secret princess was not quite feeling like her usual, **natural** , self.

After the ladies were, politely, forced to leave Haruhi was just about to take a breather when the Shadow King a.k.a. Kyoya-senpai spoke up.

"Haruhi the tea-set broken during club time will be added to your debt."

That was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Haruhi bent her head slightly, letting her hair cover her eyes while trying to control her breathing and the rage building up inside of her.

The Prince, a.k.a. Tamaki-senpai, a.k.a. The Idiot, tried to **help** , but as always he just made it worse.

"Now Mommy, I'm sure my precious Haruhi didn't' mean to break the tea-set…" Before he could get another word out, Haruhi exploded.

"THAT WAS NOT MY FAULT! TAMAKI AND THE TWINS BROKE THAT SET SO WHY DON'T YOU LET **THEM PAY FOR IT!?** I am so sick of being treated as less than a person, so why don't you rich bastards pay for your own STUPID vase and tea-set!"

Haruhi was breathing heavily after her shouting, but she wasn't done yet, and just when Kyoya-senpai was about to say something (probably) demeaning again, she continued yelling.

"I AM **DONE!** DON'T EXPECT ME TO COME BACK!"

With that, she slammed the door behind her, leaving a few confused teenagers in her wake and completely forgetting that her bag was still sitting in the back room.

The hosts shared confused looks before the Twins broke the silence.

" **What just happened?"** They asked in unison.

Hani had a scared look on his childish face as he quietly asked his tall cousin why their only female host was so angry.

"NOO! Mommy, my precious daughter left! How could you?" Tamaki wailed at his bespectacled best friend.

Kyoya was truly shocked. He had never seen Haruhi more than irritated, so this sudden bout of shouting had really surprised him. Quickly composing himself, Kyoya cleared his throat and made to follow the girl, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Let her cool down first." Was Mori-senpai's advice. Not that he had any intention of letting the Shadow King near the female host if he could help it, but no one needed to know that.

"What's up with Haruhi?" Hikaru complained.

"Yeah? We didn't even bother her as much as usual today." Kaoru put in his comment.

"Did Haru-chan want some cake?" Hani-senpai wondered out loud. That was his solution for everything, CAKE.

"Mommy! Is our darling daughter not being treated well by her teachers? Classmates? Is she being bullied? Blackmailed?" Tamaki went into panic-mode due to all of the horrors that his inner mind theater begun concocting.

During all of the drama and chaos, Mori had fetched both his and Haruhi's bags from the back room and after a quick sign to his cousin, silently slipped out of the room to follow after his upset friend.

Mori walked the route he knew that Haruhi took to school, hoping to find her on the way if not at her apartment. He did indeed find her on the way, at the park not far from her home. Breathing a soft sigh of relief, Mori took a moment to study the tiny (to him) girl. Something was bothering her, had been for the past few days. He had noticed when the smiles stopped reaching her eyes, but he didn't know the reason.

Walking over to Haruhi where she was sitting on a swing, Mori gently placed their bags on the ground as he sat down in the swing next to her. Mori's stature was too big to be comfortable in the child's swing, but he sat down anyway, just silently letting Haruhi know that he is there if she wants to talk.

Haruhi felt more than heard Mori-senpai approach. He had such a strong presence, even though most people would completely disagree. Haruhi had very quickly learned how to recognize Mori's presence through all the chaos and drama that the rest of the Hosts – particularly Tamaki and the twins – inflicted on her on a daily basis. After all, she needed to know whether or not her savior was close by when a tug-the-Haruhi got too painful.

Even though Mori-senpai had sat down next to her, Haruhi just didn't feel like talking. She was very glad that Mori understood that on some level and just kept her company by presence alone.

At any other time, Haruhi might have cracked a smile at the sight of giant Mori attempting to fit into the small swing, but she couldn't find it in her to laugh, not even at the silly sight he made.

Mori had quietly been observing the silent girl next to him. For some reason, she looked so very lonely and even smaller than usual – if that is even possible. He wanted to ask, wanted Haruhi to confide in him, but he felt that he would be invading her privacy if he asked.

A soft voice pulled Mori out of his circling thoughts.

"Are the others here?"

Mori looked Haruhi in the eye as he said no.

"I thought you might need some space for the moment." He admitted when Haruhi said nothing more.

Grateful for Mori's caring and observant nature, Haruhi could only nod her thanks. The two sat there in the park for a while longer before Mori managed to gather his courage.

"Haruhi?"

Haruhi lifted her head to show that she was listening. It was rare for Mori-senpai to call her by her first name. She had noticed that he spoke more when he was comfortable, but usually he was a man of very few words.

"Do you want to talk?" Mori was quietly terrified that Haruhi would be angry and ask him to leave.

Haruhi had somehow gotten good at reading the stoic Mori and she noticed the trepidation in his stormy grey eyes. She could admit, if only to herself, that maybe she **did** need someone to talk to.

"Alright, but not here."

* * *

When they reached Haruhi's apartment, she shed her blazer and went into the kitchen to make them both some tea. It was more out of habit than anything else. Being in the host club had made Haruhi just make tea or coffee whenever she set foot in her home followed by the guys or as soon as she set entered the clubroom.

Mori silently put both their bags in the living room before following Haruhi to the kitchen, wordlessly helping her by taking down the cups and tealeaves.

Haruhi basked in the silence. She had been craving the quiet **all week** , but somehow she just couldn't find the calm, silent place inside herself. She had only realized how tense it had made her these past days when she finally managed to relax in Mori's calm presence.

With a sigh that spoke of complete contentment and bliss, Haruhi took a sip of the steaming liquid. Mori watched in hidden amusement (and fascination) as Haruhi seemed to just melt as she drank her tea.

Spending time together, had become as natural to the two of them as breathing. Most days, where you found one, it was very likely that you would also find the other; with or without the added presence of a short blond-haired senior. Funny how none of the other club members had noticed. Well, Kyoya might know,l but he didn't really seem to care all that much about how they spent their free time.

Over the time they had spent together, Mori had reinforced what he had known before: Haruhi will speak only when she was ready and not a moment before, no matter how good Hani's intentions were for sometimes trying to push her.

This was the reason for Mori's continued silence as he, too, simply enjoyed his tea – slightly bitter, just as he preferred it.

Haruhi felt the stress practically melt away as Mori kept her company by presence alone, no words required. She hadn't realized that he had picked up on her fake smiles the moment that the first one had made its appearance a few days ago. Haruhi herself had not picked up on the worried glances that the two seniors had been trading over her head. She had been too absorbed in the memories and the fast approaching date of her mother's death anniversary.

Haruhi did not wish to bother her friends with something as trivial as this, even though it is anything **but** trivial to her. She didn't think that she would be able to handle the ruckus that Tamaki and the Twins would create if they found out. It was likely that Kyoya already knew, but he was not the type to interfere with something that might be considered 'emotional'.

Hani and Mori, she simply did not want to bother. The two had quickly become her closest friends, even though the Twins wished to claim that privilege for themselves. Even so, looking up at Mori now with the thinly vailed concern in his eyes, she decided that maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't mind if she just talked about her mother for a bit.

Taking a deep breath, Haruhi steeled herself. She had not spoken to anyone about her mother in a very long time. Her father would sometimes make offhand comments that Kotoko would be proud of her for some achievement or that she would have loved to see Haruhi in some girly outfit he had managed to coerce her into, but they never really **talked** about her. Never shared favorite memories or stories – it was, still is, too painful for Ranka.

Now though, Haruhi **wanted** to talk, she **wanted** to share the precious memories with someone and really, who better than the one who she knew without a shadow of doubt would not judge her for it?

"Senpai? Can I… I mean, is it ok if I…" Haruhi trailed off, her usual blunt manner of speaking failing her for the moment.

Mori turned his full attention on the girl in front of him. She only called him senpai in that way on the very rare occasion that she is nervous. This must be important; therefore he gave her his full attention.

When Haruhi saw that Mori gave her his full attention, she knew that he wouldn't mind. He would listen and not judge her for missing her mother. So she started talking, slowly at first, but gaining momentum with each memory playing out in her mind's eye.

She told him everything she could remember. She told him of the earliest memories of her mother reading to her; her mother teaching Haruhi to read, while patiently correcting her when she made a mistake. The time when Haruhi had walked into the kitchen early one morning to find her parents dancing to some ridiculous pop song elicited a small smile from her companion.

Haruhi told Mori about the times when she and Kotoko would dance around the kitchen table as Kotoko cooked dinner; about Kotoko patiently teaching a young Haruhi how to cook some simple meals (with supervision only, of course).

Then came the hard part. Haruhi bit back tears as she told Mori about the accident, the weeks of visiting her mother in hospital, the call her father got in the middle of the night that told them that her mother was never coming home again. She told him about the thunderstorm that night, the one that had sparked her fear.

The funeral, the hard days of watching her father falling apart in front of her six year-old eyes, spilled out of her mouth with sobs wracking her body. The feeling of hopelessness as Ranka had turned to alcohol for comfort in those first four months; the anger at the person who had killed her mother; the need to be strong because her father wasn't. Haruhi told Mori everything.

Mori only sat there in silence, letting his friend pour her heart out to him. He held her, silently, as she cried, wishing that he could do more for her.

Finally, Haruhi told him what had been weighing on her mind the last few days. Kotoko's 10year death anniversary was coming up and Ranka had begun to shut Haruhi out again – the same way he did just after his beloved wife had died.

There, in that moment, Mori vowed, out loud, that he would be there for Haruhi when she needed someone. He promised her, silently, that he would take care of her in whatever way he could, whatever way she wanted, needed.

In that moment of tears and silent promises, bonds were being formed that would never be broken. And Haruhi found warm comfort from the cold loneliness in her heart, in the arms of her best friend.

The End

* * *

 **Please drop me a review to let me know what you think. Constructive criticism welcome!**

 **Kitty**

 **PS: This is only meant to be one-shot, I will NOT be continuing it. If you want to know what happened with the club, well, that is what your imagination is for *Wink***

 **PPS:** **For all of you who have read Crazy Times, this was one of the twisted story lines. Not exactly how I first imagined it, but this fic practically wrote itself, so who am I to complain?**


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